Keane singer Tom Chaplin returns with candid solo debut

Tom Chaplin is out of rehab and back on the road with his first solo album, “The Wave.”

Tom Chaplin is out of rehab and back on the road with his first...

Tom Chaplin’s life spun out of control after Keane split up four years ago. Having battled addictions to alcohol and drugs throughout the British pop trio’s career — which yielded hits like “Somewhere Only We Know” and “Everybody’s Changing” before coming to a halt in 2013 — the 37-year-old singer remembers one four-day cocaine bender where he was certain his heart was going to give out. Afraid he would lose his wife, daughter and career, Chaplin once again checked himself into rehab last year — and this time he promises it’s for real. Now he’s back on the road with his first solo album, “The Wave,” and spoke to us from his home in London.

Q: It’s so great to hear your voice singing new songs. I wasn’t sure it was ever going to happen again.

A: Thank you very much. I have to pinch myself sometimes when I realize it’s only two years since my life was in a complete downward spiral. To have written a whole record and be touring around the world — with the reaction I’ve had — I honestly feel like I’m dreaming. I was crying by the end of the first show just because I felt so overwhelmed by the whole thing.

Q: Did you hesitate at all about returning to the lifestyle — and being so candid about your past?

A: It’s hard to say. I got to a point in my life a couple of years back, I was so closed off and so isolated. In truth, I was very close to dying. I knew the only way out of that was to do the opposite of what I had been doing for years — and the opposite was to open up and lay myself bare. I have to be very candid and connect with other people instead of trying to deal with problems myself. I now feel more comfortable in my own skin than I ever have in the past.

Q: Why isn’t this a Keane album?

A: Well, there are many reasons. The whole point of writing the solo record was to see if I could, and to go through the discomfort of going on that adventure. As it turned out, it’s such a personal story it suits being told in the way I’m doing it, which is obviously on my own. It would be difficult for the other members to talk with authority of the problems I went through.

Q: You said that when Keane was at the height of its popularity, you were void of feeling. How will it be different this time?

A: I was a very different person in those days. The very early days of Keane, it was such a whirlwind. Any person would find it hard to take in and process that — especially in the space of time we had, from playing for literally no one to thousands of people around the world. All the things I thought would be answered by being in a successful band didn’t provide relief from the problems in my life, or my insecurities. I go into it now with my eyes more open, obviously, with the experience of the past. I just feel better equipped for it. It feels very special and new. I am looking out into audiences and truly appreciating it.